This is probably the best story I've ever encountered in any video game. It's ambitious and unafraid to compromise its message, yet it's also broad. Spira, Yevon, Sin, etc aren't one-to-one comparisons with any real world religions or minority groups, but they can be applied to many under a large umbrella with the themes of truth and acceptance ringing regardless.
The game's quirks like the voice acting and the tropical aesthetic make it a one of a kind experience. We're never going to get a game like this ever again.
Yuna is in the running for one of my favorite characters of all time. The party members as a whole were excellent. The argument between Wakka and Rikku after finding out Rikku is Al Bhed was super on-the-nose but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Kimahri was the obvious weak link. He didn't detract from the story at all, but I don't see why he needed to exist. His role in the gameplay was unfocused, and Lulu could have easily taken up the role as Yuna's first guardian and very little in the story would have changed. I actually thought he was some kind of temporary party member when he first joined. The Ronso in general were one of the least fleshed out parts of the story.
It didn't help that Mount Gagazet/The Great Plain/Zanarkand Ruins was one of the most bloated and grueling parts of the game. Which leads into the game's biggest problem: the actual gameplay.
Yeah, the gameplay is kinda trash. Whichever dev decided to throw an entire novella of blitzball instructions in the player's face and then proceeded to force them to play a match in the beginning of the game deserves jail time. The Sphere Grid is incredibly linear, so it's essentially just leveling up normally except you're forced to do it manually. The temple puzzles were boring as hell. So many bosses have the most annoying gimmicks. There were some exceptions like Spherimorph, which relied on pattern recognition. But many bosses simply inflicted a bullshit status on the player, when they have no way of knowing what it is or how to work around it on a blind playthrough. Stone, zombie, berserk...boss battles can take up to 45 minutes and a lot of it is spent waiting. God forbid you run from random encounters, because that will bring you behind the level curve. It's not a super tough game if you go out of your way to do the side content and get some good items for Rikku. But if you just want to experience the story without major roadblocks between story sections, you will absolutely suffer.
But even with all that said, experiencing the story is an absolute MUST. Even if you watch a 12-hour youtube video instead of playing the game. It is truly unforgettable.
The game's quirks like the voice acting and the tropical aesthetic make it a one of a kind experience. We're never going to get a game like this ever again.
Yuna is in the running for one of my favorite characters of all time. The party members as a whole were excellent. The argument between Wakka and Rikku after finding out Rikku is Al Bhed was super on-the-nose but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Kimahri was the obvious weak link. He didn't detract from the story at all, but I don't see why he needed to exist. His role in the gameplay was unfocused, and Lulu could have easily taken up the role as Yuna's first guardian and very little in the story would have changed. I actually thought he was some kind of temporary party member when he first joined. The Ronso in general were one of the least fleshed out parts of the story.
It didn't help that Mount Gagazet/The Great Plain/Zanarkand Ruins was one of the most bloated and grueling parts of the game. Which leads into the game's biggest problem: the actual gameplay.
Yeah, the gameplay is kinda trash. Whichever dev decided to throw an entire novella of blitzball instructions in the player's face and then proceeded to force them to play a match in the beginning of the game deserves jail time. The Sphere Grid is incredibly linear, so it's essentially just leveling up normally except you're forced to do it manually. The temple puzzles were boring as hell. So many bosses have the most annoying gimmicks. There were some exceptions like Spherimorph, which relied on pattern recognition. But many bosses simply inflicted a bullshit status on the player, when they have no way of knowing what it is or how to work around it on a blind playthrough. Stone, zombie, berserk...boss battles can take up to 45 minutes and a lot of it is spent waiting. God forbid you run from random encounters, because that will bring you behind the level curve. It's not a super tough game if you go out of your way to do the side content and get some good items for Rikku. But if you just want to experience the story without major roadblocks between story sections, you will absolutely suffer.
But even with all that said, experiencing the story is an absolute MUST. Even if you watch a 12-hour youtube video instead of playing the game. It is truly unforgettable.